Two weeks ago BMW launched the brand new Mini. A few weeks before that we reported that thanks to the versatile nature of the new UKL1 platform the new Mini family will comprise up to 10 variants.

Well, it seems that someone at the firms Oxford plant couldn’t quite keep the next model a secret much longer and took this image of a five-door Mini model and leaked it to British website Auto Express.

Unlike the existing range, which boasts just the Countryman as the five-door variant, the new range will have a regular hatchback model in five-door guise. This model will be a brand-new addition to the range.

“You can see from looking at the standard hatch that we will need to expand the wheelbase just to fit another set of doors in”, Dietmar Zimmerhackl, senior vice president Mini product line told Auto Express recently.

“Some people want a MINI with the ease of five doors but they don’t want it to be as big as the Countryman. That’s our market here,” Zimmerhackl revealed.
As was the case previously the three-door model is likely to make-up the bulk of Mini sales, but with the addition of this more versatile version the pool of potential customers is likely to grow.

“Some people want a MINI with the ease of five doors but they don’t want it to be as big as the Countryman. That’s our market here,” Zimmerhackl revealed.

Agreed!

So in terms of the 5-door Minis, we have this, the Countryman and the Mini Spacebox that Scott talked about...